Canadians Are "Spocking" Their $5 Bills in a Perfect Tribute to Leonard Nimoy
News this week that Star Trek actor Leonard Nimoy, who made the half-human half-Vulcan starship officer Spock a household name, had passed away at the age of 83 saddened Trekkies, casual fans and aficionados of his other acting work alike.
But Canadians with just a couple of bucks and a pen have found their own unique way to pay tribute to the actor. As it turns out, the late Nimoy resembles former Canadian Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier (1841-1919), whose profile just so happens to grace the Canadian five-dollar banknote. It didn't take long for Canadians to discover that with just a few strokes of a pen, the bill suddenly becomes a tribute to Spock:
It's kind of uncanny.
As Quartz reports, drawing on currency is actually a "fine Canadian tradition" that's existed for years. "This series of Canadian bills was an easy target," Canadian Design Resource publisher Todd Falkowsky told the site. "The existing portraits are quite large and can be improvised with easily, and the color of our [fives is] the same blue as Spock's uniform."
On the Facebook group "Spocking Fives," administrators posted a few more examples of just what an enterprising currency-defacer can do with the bills:
Other publicly posted photos on the group "Spock Your Fives" had equally impressive examples:
...including the evil mirror dimension Spock:
At least one Twitter user was also able to sketch a Spock on top of one of the newer polymer-based bank notes, which are supposed to be much harder to damage than regular paper money:
Spock himself probably wouldn't find defacing perfectly good money for the sake of a joke very logical, but even he might be surprised at just how closely Laurier resembles the USS Enterprise's science officer.
Canadians are officially not allowed to destroy or damage currency, which according to Quartz remains illegal under Canadian law (as it also is in the U.S.). But since the bills remain legal tender, Spocking them is essentially harmless right up until the time you try to offload one on a tired bartender or angry convenience store clerk.
Canadian bank notes have actually undergone a recent redesign, which means the $5 notes that work best for Spocking will slowly be replaced by newer ones that are less suited to fans' creative redesigns.
h/t Quartz
